Apple E-Books Judge Says U.S. Can Show Pricing Conspiracy

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote is overseeing claims by the Justice Department and a group of states that Apple Inc. conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books and strip retailers of the ability to set prices. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has evidence that Apple Inc.
participated in a conspiracy to raise the prices of electronic
books, the federal judge overseeing the government’s civil
antitrust case against the company said.

“I believe that the government will be able to show at
trial direct evidence that Apple knowingly participated in and
facilitated a conspiracy to raise prices of e-books, and that
the circumstantial evidence in this case, including the terms of
the agreements, will confirm that,” U.S. District Judge Denise
Cote in Manhattan said yesterday.

Cote is overseeing claims by the Justice Department and a
group of states that Apple conspired with publishers to raise
the price of e-books and to strip retailers, including
Amazon.com Inc., of the ability to set prices. Cote made the
remarks today in what was to be the last court conference before
a June 3 trial, which is to take as long as three weeks.

The judge, who will decide the case without a jury,
stressed that her view was tentative before she has heard
testimony and argument from the parties’ lawyers.

“We strongly disagree with the court’s preliminary
statements about the case,” Orin Snyder, Apple’s lead lawyer in
the case, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “The court
made clear that this was not a final ruling and that the
evidence at trial will determine the verdict. This is what a
trial is for.”

‘Benefited Consumers’

He said the “evidence will show that Apple benefited
consumers by injecting much-needed competition and innovation
into an emerging market.”

The trial is expected to feature evidence including e-mails
from Steve Jobs, Apple’s late co-founder.

The U.S. sued Apple and the publishers in April 2012.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, is the only defendant
remaining in the case. Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck
GmbH’s Macmillan unit, CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardere
SCA’s Hachette Book Group, Pearson Plc’s Penguin unit and News
Corp.’s HarperCollins have settled with the government.

The case is U.S. v. Apple Inc., 12-cv-02826, U.S. District
Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).